Keeping Promises
by CatonaRocketship
Summary: I promised to win the Games. I promised to keep Peeta alive. After the twist during the feast, keeping either of those promises got a lot harder. Forced to pair up with a tribute from a different district, I got Cato. The odds aren't exactly in my favor.
1. Stares and Winks

**Hey people! This is my first **_**Hunger Games**_** story, and the first story I've ever written in awhile, so I hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

I told him he wasn't going to die. I promised Peeta.

"_You're not going to die,"_ I told him firmly.

"_Says who?_" he asked, his voice ragged and empty.

"_Says me. We're on the same team now, you know,_" I answered him.

I know I'm not the best person; I'm actually fairly flawed, and I have no shame admitting that. Knowing this, I've always tried to not make many promises in my life. But ever since this trap called the _Hunger Games_, I've been contradicting myself a lot. I promised my little sister Primrose that I would win these games for her. As much as I want to win, I don't know how I'm going to win with Peeta laying here in this cave defenseless with his body screaming "kill me now!" Which brings me to my second promise: keeping Peeta alive. I _need_ to make sure he doesn't die, especially like this. I need to give him a second chance, just like he's given me the second chance back when he tossed over the bread to me, saving me at that moment. I'll never be able to show him my appreciation for that, so keeping him alive is the least I could do.

Now we're both trying to make the most of our safety here in the cave. Peeta's currently sleeping with his back against the wall of the cave, resting his bad leg. He never sleeps, but I guess his immense fatigue got to him. I love having him here with me, but I'm glad he's dozing off for a bit; it gives me some time to think about the other tributes.

How many of us are there now? I count six tributes: me and Peeta, Cato and Clove, and then Foxface and Thresh. Running a mini profile on the other tributes, I'm trying to think on who I want out as soon as possible. Those careers, Cato and Clove. I definitely want them out first. After my stunt in the beginning of these games in which I almost got killed by Clove, and then when Cato messed up Peeta's leg, making us set up camp here in this cave, I really don't have a particular interest in either of them. It's bad enough they train extensively for these games, but their heartlessness really disgusts me. I guess it's part of the game, but we don't need people like Cato and Clove winning these games. Now that I think about it, the people of Panem don't need a winner like me, either. They do need a winner like Peeta, though. We can do this together, Peeta and I.

"Did I miss anything special?"

I turn around and see Peeta looking at me. Even though the circumstances aren't the most ideal for the two of us, he still has this little sparkle in his eye. He smiles at me and I return one to him and shake my head. "Nope, nothing really. Nothing's really happened since we've been here," I tell him.

Peeta seems to be relieved by this. "Good." Peeta looks at me and the sense of relief goes away from him. "But I don't think it'll be like this for much longer. Something has to happen today."

"I sure hope nothing happens today, unless that something is medicine for your leg."

Peeta looks at his leg once more and remembers the pain again. He looks back and the sparkle I saw before was gone. He chose not to say anything else after. I can't blame him; he's suffering pain that I can't even imagine at this point. It's hard watching him agonize in this cave and for all we know, he doesn't have much time left to live. If only Haymitch could send us some medicine, but I'm pretty sure it's really expensive at this point, late in the games. We've gotten soup and little meals, but nothing major yet. Haymitch has been expecting me to make the move with Peeta, it seems. Since we're the supposed star-crossed lovers, I guess we have to fit the part more to earn some nicer gifts. Well, _I_ have to fit the part more. Peeta's all in for it, but as of right now, I can't think about "love" until we solve this leg problem. Until I give Peeta his second chance. We sat there awkwardly for a few moments when Peeta began to sit up and move his body.

"You hear that? Trumpets, I think," Peeta says.

I look at Peeta and then I began to listen. I hear the trumpets as they got louder. A message from the announcer of the Games, Claudius Templesmith, starts to play. "It must be about the feast," I told Peeta.

He looks at me sadly, knowing it'd be impossible for him to attend the feast. I wanted to tune out the message, but I couldn't help but be intrigued by the fact that Claudius said that this year's "feast" is a little different. "Hello tributes. The following announcement is very important and integral for the next part of the Games."

Peeta and I look at each other with a little discomfort, as the announcement doesn't sound very pretty. "There is a mandatory feast tonight at the Cornucopia. All tributes must be in attendance. From now until the feast, there shall be no killings. There also shall be no killings at the feast. If such killings do occur, the tribute with the blood in his or her hands will be… disqualified. If any tribute is not present by sunset, that tribute will be disqualified, also. That is all."

I shudder when I hear the last part of the announcement. The whole mysteriousness of the upcoming feast already bothers me, but now that it's a race to the Cornucopia, I can almost assure myself that Peeta and I will be "disqualified," to put it in Capitol terms. I look at Peeta and he's already standing up, using all the strength left in him to do so. "Well, we don't want to keep them waiting too long," Peeta says.

Looking at Peeta stand there shows me that I'll never really be the girl he deserves. I never display such bravery like he does. I get up and give him a kiss on the cheek and smile at him gently. "Let's get going, we're going to need as much time as possible."

At least the trek from our cave to the Cornucopia isn't that far, if you didn't have any physical ailments. Lucky for us, we have a severely injured leg to deal with. Since the Gamekeepers like to mess around with the weather in the arena, who knows what they could do with the Sun. Hopefully they'll have mercy on Peeta and I, but it's the Capital after all.

* * *

"Katniss, how much longer, you think?" Peeta asks me.

I'm slightly annoyed by this question. I know that Peeta's trying his best, but we've been walking for two hours already, and we still have maybe another two hour's worth of walking if we keep up this pace. "Peeta, I know it's not easy, but if we keep going like this, we're 'disqualified' for sure."

"Thanks for the positive reinforcement,"

"Hey, I'm just being realistic! Come on, Peeta!"

I stop him and look him right in his eyes. The sparkle isn't there, as expected, but miniature flames were brewing. This isn't fair. "Look, I know you're going through a lot of pain, but this isn't easy for me, either! And if you don't tough it out for a little more, we're gonna get killed!" I yell.

Peeta seems to be startled by my little outburst. "Killed?" Peeta asks innocently.

I want to roll my eyes at what Peeta asked. "Well what do you think 'disqualified' means? A nice train ride back home to District 12?"

"If you want to live so badly, why don't you just ditch me. Better off one of us from District 12 win than neither of us." Peeta begins to turn himself around toward the direction of the cave.

I look down at the ground and hide my anger at Peeta's last sentence. I compose myself and put my hand on his left shoulder. "I promised you that you wouldn't die. I told you that we were both in this together. Both of us, or neither of us," I tell Peeta. He turns around, looks at me, and I notice the flames were extinguished from his eyes.

"And you're keeping that promise?" he asks me.

"Of course I'm keeping it. And we're going to win this thing together. Both of us or neither of us," I tell Peeta.

He smiles at me and tries to put a little more strength on his leg. "We don't have much time, let's go."

Peeta leans against me and we continue our journey to the Cornucopia.

* * *

When we got to the Cornucopia, we noticed everyone was there waiting for us. Thresh was standing a good distance away from the table, but started walking toward it when he noticed us. Cato and Clove were standing near each other and began whispering things to each other when Peeta and I came along. Foxface looked extremely out of place and nervous being around all of us tributes.

I caught the eye of Cato and he sent me over what I interpret as a death stare. His arms were crossed and his demeanor was very aggressive. Clove sent Peeta and me a villainous grin. The two of them together showed me that they are definitely the two tributes to look out for. I bet they think we're some kind of road block in front of their future victory of these beloved Games. Clove's grin turned into some kind of maniacal laugh, and I didn't really know why at first. Then I looked over at Peeta and he looked like he was about to throw up.

"Peeta, I need you to look tougher. You can't make us look vulnerable!" I whisper to Peeta.

Peeta looks over with me with a pained expression on his face. "I'm trying my best. You try walking with a leg that could literally fall right off!" he tells me.

I sigh and Clove begins to trash us. "Oh, look who finally felt like showing up. It's Fire Girl and her crippled boy toy! Surprised you guys even came at all!"

Boy toy? That's new.

Cato begins walking toward us and examines me and Peeta. "I'm impressed. I was kind of curious to see what the 'disqualifications' would have been. I guess none of us will ever find out. Right, Thresh?"

Thresh doesn't show any change of emotion or reaction to Cato's question. He seems very focused. I can't look at him right now; looking at him reminds me too much of Rue. If only she were here. I'd like to have one meal with her without the threat of dying for even a few minutes. That can't happen, though.

The six of us stand there and the same thought dawned on each and every one of us: _why are we here?_

"So where's the food?" asks Foxface.

I've never heard her talk much. She's still such a mystery to me. Her strategy is peculiar, but it seems to be working out fine for her so far. "I highly doubt there's gonna be food for us tonight, honey," Cato says. "If you were really hoping for that, I'm sorry I crushed your dreams for today. You look really hungry, it must be tough going through these Games."

I'm not a big fan of the arrogance being showcased by Cato. He begins to laugh at himself then he looks over at me. He gives me a wink and proceeds to bash Foxface.

_What was that?_ From death stares to winks. I'm not sure whether to be intimidated or intrigued. I'm feeling a little bit of both right now. I am honestly taken aback slightly by Cato's eye twitch. At least that's what I'm going to call it for now.

I look over at Peeta and his face is now a different shade of green. I don't want to say anything at this point, fearing I'd make the situation worse. I give him a good pat on the back. "I'm really sorry, Katniss. I'm just trying my best not to vomit."

"They can't kill us anyway. If you really have to, just please don't throw up on me."

At this moment, Peeta separated himself from me and proceeded to vomit all over the ground. I'm deeply embarrassed by this, especially since Cato and Clove were already getting a kick out of Peeta and me to begin with. I ignore any oncoming comments from them.

After a grueling minute of roasting from the two District 2 tributes, a screen appears from underground. It seems to be a pre-recorded bit from the Capitol. This will probably explain why there's a lack of food.

"Hello tributes, nice to see you are all present," the bit begins. It's President Snow talking to us. "You are probably all wondering why you are all here right now. We've never had a feast under these circumstances before. But this next twist to our beloved Games is something all of you would have to be present to achieve. And present you all are."

I see that the greenish color is gone from Peeta's face. He seems to be better as he struggles over. I help him up as he almost fell to the ground. "Are you okay, Peeta?" I ask.

He looks dazed, tired, and confused. "I… I've never been better," Peeta sheepishly begins. "Actually, no, I feel awful."

"At least your face isn't green," I tell him.

He tries to smile at me and then we both focus our attention to the screen. "There are six of you left. You are all part of one of the most unique groups of contestants we've ever had. With already one rule change, we've decided to add another twist to the game. As you know, we are having the opportunity to have two victors for this year's Hunger Games. Those two victors would both have to be from the same district. Only District 2 and 12 are eligible for this truly wonderful prize. This is a prize that should be earned. The Capitol never gives out these prizes easily."

Cato and Clove are heavily focused on the video, but I notice Peeta looking at me with a grim expression. "Where's he going with this, Katniss?"

I can't say to Peeta what I really want to say. I feel this is going to be some sort of deathmatch between Cato, Clove, and Peeta and me. I swallow those words and just give a rather emotionless shrug. This doesn't really make Peeta feel any better. "With that, we are instituting the following: there shall be three pairs of tributes, randomly selected by the Capitol. All pairs will consist of tributes from different districts. The tributes in each pair are not allowed to kill each other throughout the rest of the Games, until there are only three tributes remaining."

This haunts me. I can't even see straight. I don't want to think about Peeta at this moment. I notice his body shaking next to mine. A tear was rolling down his cheek as he looked at me. I tried to stop him from showing his true emotions, but I wasn't able to. Peeta is stronger than this, but at this point, I can't stop him. Luckily, the other tributes weren't paying attention to the two of us. I give Peeta a small embrace hoping he would stop. He composes himself and gives me a timid smile.

The pairs were beginning to be revealed by President Snow. He tells us that the first pair is Thresh and Clove. This is an interesting group, but Thresh doesn't really look pleased. He doesn't really show any emotion, but his head shot up when he heard his partner.

I begin to grow antsy regarding the next two pairs. I would most likely not be too happy with my partner. The second pair was Peeta and Foxface. This means that I'm stuck with the menacing Cato.

I look instinctively over at Cato, and a slow, wicked grin appeared on his face. The only sense of comfort I have right now is that Cato isn't allowed to kill me for a little bit of time. A sense of comfort felt for only a split second, because I realize that he has more than enough power to snap the leg off of Peeta and ultimately kill him. I glance over at Peeta and he looks like a mixed bag of emotions. I'm sure he's relieved that his partner has been hiding throughout most of these Games, but I'm sure the idea of the two of us separating for the rest of the Games is a lot for him. It's a lot for me, too, but I can only imagine the emotions running through him right now. Before I'm able to say anything, President Snow leaves us with one more message.

"It is still possible to have two victors, but it will not be easy. Remember, we here at the Capitol do not give away our prizes. They must be earned. Best of luck to you, tributes." The screen goes back into the ground and the six of us are left standing, without a word to utter. At this point, three hovercrafts appeared above us and are proceeding to land. These hovercrafts are similar to the ones that pick up the dead bodies, but modified I guess for the whole pairs situation. I assume we're going to be divided so we each don't know where we are.

We're about to be picked up when I grab Peeta. "Don't do anything crazy. Don't go out in the open. Trust Foxface for now. I need you to survive until the final three. We will win these Games, I know it Peeta," I tell him.

I pull him in for a quick kiss and he stands there emotionless. "I'll try my best, Katniss, but I can't promise anything."

"I promised you that you aren't going to die, and I'm going to stay true to it."

Peeta looks at me, no fire or sparkle in his eyes. "I believe in you Katniss. Don't let Cato get to you too much," Peeta tells me.

I don't why, but I laugh a little at this. "Don't worry, Peeta," I begin, but another person comes from behind me and grabs my shoulders.

"Yes, you shouldn't worry, Peeta. I'll keep my eye on Katniss for you, lover boy," he says in a mysterious tone. He gives Peeta a mean look then pulls me away with him.

I rip myself from Cato's grasp and give him my own mean look. He laughs at my stare and pulls me toward our hovercraft.

As we board the hovercraft and are about to take-off, Cato says something to me. "You shouldn't have ever made any promises during these Games. Promises are meant to be broken." He gives me another wink as we take-off to our part of the arena.

* * *

**Whoo! So that's it for now, guys! What do you all think? If you guys like it, please leave me a review, that'd be super awesome. Until next time (which I hope is soon), happy reading!**


	2. Jackasses and Douchebags

**Hey reader people! Yes, you clicked on chapter 2, you obviously have some sort of interest for this story! I'm really happy with the favorite stories/story alerts this story has been getting so far. A few of you have reviewed, and that's always fun! I guess I'm a little old-fashioned, but a few more reviews wouldn't hurt! Just want to hear your actual opinions on the story! **

**Thanks for reading guys! Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Our hovercraft takes off from the ground, and I'm able to get my last look at Peeta. He gives a little wave and then he's helped onto his hovercraft by Foxface. Looking at the two of them struggle to even move a few paces makes me feel funny in my stomach. Poor Peeta. We went from telling each other stories in our cave, kissing aimlessly, to this mess. Our relationship in these Games is supposed to be just "for the Games," but I actually started warming up to him.

Or maybe it was just his raging fever raising my temperature a few degrees. Who knows.

But my biggest problem right now is sitting right across from me, and his eyes are glued on me. I'm still absorbing the last thing he told me.

_"You shouldn't have ever made any promises during these Games. Promises are meant to be broken."_

As far as I'm concerned, a promise is a promise. I don't make many, but when I do, I make sure I keep them. No matter what. In my eyes, Peeta and I are already the champions. How we're going to get there, I'm not really sure.

I haven't said anything to Cato yet, and he looks curiously at me. Curiosity. This is new. Instead of the typical death stare, I get curiosity. If he's devising some way to kill me when the competition is lowered to three, I would not be surprised at all. I look at him for a few seconds more when I start to get really bothered by his incessant staring. "Do you mind?" I ask him bitterly.

Cato puts his hands up attempting to show his supposed innocence. "We're teammates now! At least pretend to like me so that we can survive until the final three. I'm sure you want to get there as soon as possible so you can finish me off, don't you?" His curious expression with his devilish smirk returns. "Besides, you were adoring my beautiful face first."

"Pshhh, no," I say, as my face turns bright red.

_What are you doing, Katniss?_ I don't care what he thinks, why am I reacting like this? I have no feelings for Cato, why am I getting a funny feeling all of a sudden? I look around to see if there are any cameras on this hovercraft, and sure enough, two are pointed straight at me. The Capitol isn't trying to be subtle on these things. This isn't good for my reputation as a star-crossed lover, I'm being set up!

"Hey, look what we have here, is the girl on fire catching fire? How cute. I knew you couldn't resist me," says Cato.

I need to make sure that Cato isn't getting any funny thoughts right now about me. "Look, jackass, stop flattering yourself," I retort. My blood is boiling at this point, and at any moment I might literally be on fire.

"Whoa, watch your words, Twelve. Those aren't very nice words to say. I expected more from you."

Now I start shouting and yelling very unattractive things to Cato. He had this coming; he's the one that got my blood boiling to begin with. It's bad enough I got stuck with him of all people. There weren't many choices, though, so the odds were most definitely not in my favor. Through my barrage of swears and names I threw over at him, Cato seemed to be quite amused by all this. He had his arms crossed throughout the whole thing and even nodded after a few of my slurs. He's like Haymitch in the way he seemingly allows me to shout endless swears at him. I end my little tirade and now I find myself catching my breath. I spent a great deal of energy calling Cato some very unpleasant things. He looks at the cameras when I finish.

"Are you done? Can I come in? I bet the people at home really liked that. Very attractive, I can see why loverboy is so infatuated with you. Are you known as being an angry person, Katniss? Honest question."

I'm taken aback by this. Cato's good with his words, and he doesn't seem affected by any of the things I tell him. Not like I was expecting him to cry or something, but some sort of reaction would've been nice for the moment. I feel like this ride is going to be endless. "Angry? For the people who even know me at all back home, I feel like they think I'm a quiet, determined girl," I tell Cato.

"Well I guess the Games show people's true colors. I wouldn't be wrong in saying that?"

I look at Cato with disgust. He's making me look like a horrible person from the few minutes I've even been in his presence. "Back home at Twelve, we don't have anyone as big of a douchebag as you, so no one would really have to go crazy on someone!"

Cato holds ten fingers up. "Jackass, douchebag, other variants of the word 'ass,' and some other words that have to do with my mother. I don't have enough fingers for the other nice names. Wide vocabulary, huh, Katniss?"

I stop myself from saying anything else. I've said enough, and I'm sure Haymitch is having his seventh drink watching me essentially write the epitaph on my future tombstone. _Katniss Everdeen, the star-crossed lover, the douche bag loather._

Cato sighs and puts his head down. "Fire girl-"

"Katniss!" I interrupt.

"Right, Katniss, sorry. Let me start over." Cato seems to be fumbling with his words. He starts off slowly. "Katniss… I can see that we aren't the biggest fans of each other. We both started off on the wrong foot. Let's put everything behind us and focus on the bigger picture. We both want to make it to the top 3, so we'll do whatever it takes for the two of us to survive."

I'm not sure why he's trying to be so genuine all of a sudden. I thought he was just mocking me about my whole swearing show. "I don't know what kind of act you're putting on right now, but let's establish a few key points right now."

"Act? Look I'm sorry, you were right about me being a jackass. I know I am one, but we jackasses can have feelings, too. "

I'm still convinced that this is an act. He can try to get my sympathy all he wants, but he's just another Career to me. "Fine, let's go with that. You're sorry, you have feelings, great to know. But how about Peeta and Clove? Realize we're only partners until the top THREE. You, me, and one other tribute, assuming the two of us make it all the way. What do you say now?" I ask him. I'm hoping to shut him down at this point.

He takes a deep breath before speaking. "As far as I'm concerned, Clove's not my partner right now. You are. You're the only one who can't kill me, so you're my partner. Having two winners from my district win would be amazing, but I don't think it's going to happen."

"And… what makes you think that?"

Cato seems to be at a loss for words again. "As much of a threat Clove has been this entire time, I don't think she has what it takes to make it all the way, to be blunt. She has to get through people like you first."

I look at Cato with disbelief. This act that's he's putting on is confusing the heck out of me. "What do you mean?" I ask.

Cato laughs for a second. "Too cute, Katniss. You know how good you are. I'm pretty sure you must've done something incredible to earn that eleven back with the Gamekeepers. As much as I hated you back in the beginning of these wonderful Games, especially back when you out-climbed me on that stupid tree,"

I laugh at the memory. "One of my finer moments during these games," I tell Cato.

"Hey!" Cato says.

We both laugh for a few seconds, but Cato gets back to his whole "serious" act. "Even though my feelings weren't always the best toward you, I can see what all the fuss is about. You're good, Katniss."

I don't know whether to be relieved about this or not. "Well, thanks, I guess. I don't think I'm as good as you think I am, or you say that you think I am. I almost died more times than I can count, and you're a big reason for that. And if you really thought I was this good the whole time, why didn't you just form an alliance with me from the beginning? So basically what I'm telling you is all this sweet talk is kind of hard for me to believe."

Cato opens his mouth for a moment, but no words come out. He plays with his fingers for a moment and then tries again. "I know where you're coming from. And to be honest, I don't really have a good reason for my madness. I'm a Career, and Careers work with other Careers."

Here's where he starts contradicting himself. "Uh huh, and you decided to make an exception for Peeta this time, now didn't you?"

"It's not easy to explain."

"And why is that? You know what? You're so full of crap. I can't even talk to you right now!" I snap at Cato.

An awkward silence follows now. I angrily glance at Cato, just to see how he reacted. I see that he is just sitting there observing me as well. The only one displaying any form of emotion throughout this entire ride is me. It seems to be a lost cause trying to tick off Cato, but I think it's good TV for the people back home.

"Let me ask you one question," Cato starts.

"Explain why you recruited Peeta, and maybe I'll answer your question," I reply.

"There wouldn't be any point answering your question if you don't answer mine."

I sit there in silence and I close my eyes. All of this is too much to take in right now. I wonder how Peeta's doing in his ride with Foxface right now. Judging by the awkwardness and mysteriousness of Foxface, I'm sure the two of them are enjoying a nice nap right now. I snap back to my current situation and look back over at Cato. "What's your question?" I ask him.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

A bad person is a bit of an understatement. "Yes," I answer.

He laughs at this. "Who are you to judge whether or not I'm a good person? You don't know me. I don't even know you, but I already have a hunch that you're a nice girl, if you take out all the names you called me a few minutes ago."

He has a point; I guess I don't really know him. But from what I've seen, he's only your average Career. Strong. Cold-blooded. Killer. "I may not know you, but like you said, we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe you're not a bad guy, but that does not mean that you're a good guy! Not at all!"

"We're teammates now, you're gonna have to trust me."

"We aren't _teammates_. We're just not allowed to kill one another!"

"Well whatever the hell we are, you're just going to have to trust me, Katniss!"

"WHY?" I yell. I cannot take him at all. His act is driving me crazy. Why he keeps begging for my trust is beyond me.

"Because I assure you I will not harm you for the rest of the Games. I can't speak for the other tributes, but you won't have to worry about me. I won't hurt you. I don't know if you believe any of what I'm saying right now, but you don't have to. I know I'm telling the truth, and that's all that matters."

* * *

**Katniss and Cato's first scene! I could've went on a little more, but I decided to just end it there for now, just to mess with you guys! **

**If you liked what you read, leave a review! It would mean a lot to me! Just want to make sure I'm not writing for robots or something, lol!**

**As for whether or not this is a Katniss/Cato or Katniss/Peeta story, answering some of you reviewers, I don't know yet either, hahaha! Both pairings have potential still, and I'm not exactly sure how this story is ending yet. I do know how the next chapter will be, but I won't be able to upload that until probably next weekend. **

**So until next time!**

**EJ**


End file.
